Wow. Good evening everyone. Welcome. As I call to order, school regular school board meeting of Independent School District number 882 at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5th. It's good to see you all here. Uh, all right. So, please
stand with me and oh, I'd like to make one note. Um, we are Devonyie, we are missing board member Mark Branson this evening. If you can note that, that'd be great. All right. Now, you can please stand and say the pledge of allegiance with me.
I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Now, we're looking for
approval of the consent agenda. So, moved. Second. Moved by Melissa Curtis, seconded by Casey Root. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. All oppose, please say no. Motion passes.
50. We have no citizen comments this evening, which will bring us to item number five, fiscal stability. Looking for approval of our consent agenda. So moved. Second. By Melissa Curtis, seconded by Casey Root. All those in favor, please say I.
I. All oppose, please say no. Motion passes 50. Now, we're on to a very exciting portion of this evening's meeting, and I'd like you to help me welcome up to the podium uh our high school principles, Lorie Hansen and Matt
Coowell and Gary Revig, as we do some awesome student recognition. The floor is yours. All right, good evening. I'm Gary Revg, activities director. Um the high school activities office and the
Minnesota State High School League give out a prestigious award every year. For the seniors, it's the AAA award and for the juniors, it's the Excel Award. I'm going to start tonight with our Excel award for our juniors. Would Kian Gustoen and Lana Tapper please come up?
All right. To be eligible for the Excel Award, you must be a junior in high school. You must be making satisfactory progress toward graduation, participate in league sponsored fine arts and activities, hold a leadership position in the school, and be in good standing
with the Minnesota State High School League. Kian has a 3.69 GPA. Lana has a 4.0 GPA. Kian participated in orchestra, musical, two years of visual arts. Lana
band, two years of musical. Sports, Kian soccer, esports, tennis, and one year of track. Lana gymnastics, track and field. Leadership positions, Lana, NHS, a magic leader, jazz band, Interact, Kian, Ma uh
managed esports through community ed for our high school. In volunteer work, Kian Sunday school, mission trips, backstage crew at church. Lana, Feed My Starving Children, Bible School, Interact Club,
and Mission Trips. Congratulations, Kian Gustoson and Lia [Applause] Tapper. We'll anchor him this time.
Well, good evening and uh just know as we work through these groups of students um they're very involved students and they're very busy and some of them just couldn't be here tonight. So, we've got a um I think it's close to 80 some students were trying to get up here but we know they couldn't all be here but we
did want to recognize them anyway. So, the next two students I'll bring up here are our boys and girls state nominations. Um, last year at and Willa were the two representatives. We look for two juniors every year um to participate in what's called Boy State
and Girls State. Both of them are sponsored by the Legion in town. Um, they pay for all the expenses. They put on a dinner. But what Boys and Girls State is is an opportunity to go experience a week-long uh camp, so to speak, at either Bethl or
St. John's and our social studies department has a really big role in nominating these students. So Dawson is one of them. Dawson Black if you come on up. And the other is Natasha Forsy. I did not see Natasha walk in. Um so she couldn't be here tonight. But Dawson is going to go down to or over to St.
John's I believe this June for a week's long camp so to speak. And what it really is is just a week-long experience in in understanding government and understanding the importance of government and the American citizenship. So the social studies department has noticed his interest, his um passion for
it and how he's done real well with it over the course last few years and he was nominated by the social studies department. Um so again that's a funded by the American Legion of Town. We're super supportive. They are super supportive of the school and we are very appreciative of all they do for Monaceel
High School. So congratulations to Natasha who's not here but Dawson as well. [Applause] I'm going to introduce our four seniors who receive the student of excellence award that is sponsored by resource and
training out of St. Cloud. Again, to Matt's point, we have a number of kids that are busy, so I know that all of them couldn't be here tonight, but can I have Olivia Dunn, Brock Colossals, Tyler Gru, and Hadley Schultz come up and join me. These are four seniors who have a
commendable GPA. They've demonstrated academic excellence, leadership, community or school involvement. They are exemplary in their positive role model. They make a difference in the lives of fellow students throughout our school district, our high school, and
our community at large. In general, these students have a contributed in academics, athletics, activities, volunteerism, and service to other. They represent truly the best of what Monaceel High School has to offer. We have Olivia Dunn and Tyler
[Applause] Gru. All right. Awesome. All right, back to activities. Would Camden Fearbin and Claudia Martin please come up? Congrats. All right, Camden and Claudia are AAA
winners. It's a very prestigious award. It goes to a senior. So, to be eligible for this award, you must be a senior, uh, have a high GPA, participate in league sponsored fine arts and activities, and be in good standing.
Each school can only nominate one male and one female. Cam's GPA is 3.95. Claudia's is 3.99. Cam participated in fine arts and band. Two years in the pit orchestra for the musical, one act jazz band. Claudia
orchestra and musical. Sports, Claudia is in swimming, track and field, and she managed the boy swim team. Cam cross country and tennis. leadership positions. Claudia Monaceel Royal Ambassador and Cam VP of unified club
and treasurer of student council and national honors society. Congratulations Cam Furman and Claudia [Applause]
Martin right in the middle of the flags here. Awesome. Thanks. The next group I get to introduce I have a pleasure of introducing are some there's amazing group of people um and and very gifted students as well. So it
is our class of 2025 validictorians. There are 15 of them that currently have or have achieved the 4.0 I know over the four years. And can I have the following people please come up here? Shane Bucler, McKenna Beagler,
Allison Schoffens, Danica Crisal, Summer Derby, Jamon Deedle, Tyler Gru, Josie Johnson, Addison Kipith, Maline Coker, Katherine Lemi, Braden Ray, Cohen
Schlongan, Hadley Schultz, and Kayla Skistead. They are very busy. They are very involved. They definitely challenge themselves. When you look at the course catalog and the classes they take and have taken, they are the um the the
tough of the tough courses that they've um taken and achieved and done very well in. Obviously, all A's across the board all four years. Um and it is fun to see them start to flourish and gain their momentum with what they want to do next. So, it's been fun to get to know them.
They are preparing a video for um graduation that we all get to watch. We're very excited to see what that looks like. Um and they're very involved. Some of them came straight from activities. Some um have contests even yet today and and couldn't be here. So, um an amazing group of people. We're very proud of you and congratulations
our validictorians 2025. [Applause] [Music] And I have the honor of presenting our junior honor guard who are on track to become validictorians next year. These are juniors who are currently
maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout their high school year. They have also been participating and will be helping out with a graduation ceremony. At this time, we have 25 students that are on track to be a junior honor guard. Could I have the following students in attendance please come up here?
Alexandra Andress, Hannah Schoffens, Calvin Chang, McKenzie Cotton, Courage Durango, Julia Duchaine, Alta Da, Jordan Girtz, Nicholas Green, Alicia Gru, Lauren Hansen, Haley
Heny, Annalia Jones, Poulson Ketchum, Ellie Copri, Isabelle Mahoney, Isabella May, Ruby Minder, Mia Morris, Eve Nyiggard, Claire Palman, Abby Ruda, Addison Runa, Ruda, Lana Tabber and Samantha
V. Again, these are juniors on track throughout this year to become a valid Victorian their senior year. Again, it's easy for us to take a snapshot of their academics, but as Matt had said, it's equally as important to recognize the
rigorous courses that these students are taking, the diverse tracks that they're involved with with activities, clubs, athletics, music opportunities. And again, this group is kneedeep in their junior year, and they are setting themselves up for a very strong and successful senior year. our junior honor
[Applause] guard. Did I say your last name right? And lastly, we want to take a moment to recognize students who we know of at this time that are entering the military. If we have Adam Dazinski,
Carter Schmidt, Sadie Spicer, Noah Savage, Kyle Whitri, Elijah Casillas, Gage Lawrence, and Gavin Donner in audience. would they please come forward? We can talk a little bit about them even though they're not here. We have one of them, Adam Nazinski, who plans on
entering the ROC. Um he's very excited for that. And then we'll pursue the National Guard. That's his plan right now anyway. And then Carter Schmidt, um is planning to join the Marines. Sadi is going to the National Guard. Noah, Kyle,
Elijah, and Gage are all going to the National Guard, and Gavin Donner is planning on joining enlisting in the Marines. These student and Cam Matusa. Andrew. Andrew. Andrew. My bad. Andrew.
Andrew, come on up here. [Applause] Not on my list. I don't know. Did you come on? Do you want to share that? National Army. Army. So, here's what we were going to have them do. They were going to introduce themselves and say where
they're going. Do you want to say that or do you want I'm going into the Army Reserves while doing college. [Applause] Yeah, these students will also be recognized at the graduation ceremony where we will ask them to stand up and
get all of them um at that time as well. So, congratulations. Our sincere apologies. You just did not make our list as of 9:00 this morning, but congratulations. We appreciate it. So, that is and to you, the school board. We've had a lot of students up here tonight that
are going very uh different paths throughout their continued high school career or beyond. Matt and I are just very proud of them. They represent the very best of us. They've all taken different tracks. They've taken different paths. They've had different struggles and successes, but at the end of the day, we have an outstanding class
that's going to be graduating in 2025 in just under what I'm hearing, 21 days. But don't quote me, ask our seniors. And what we do is we trust that our junior class is ready to step up and take over the leadership as we wrap up a senior year of our graduating class, but
look forward to continuing the strong tradition that Monosel Monosell High School brings. So, thank you. And thank you. Thank you, Lori. Wow, that's incredible to see that many accomplished individuals coming in here to the school board to get recognized. I just want to
say we are very proud of each one of you and are excited to see you are our future and so no pressure, but we're really looking forward to seeing you continuing your success on to whatever avenue you're choosing to go forward
with. and we're excited to have you come back here and help continue to lead our community as well after you're done with that. So, thank you and thank you for coming. You're not obligated to stay the rest of the meeting, though it will probably be more invigorating, so you're
welcome to stay if you want to. Um, but thank you for joining us today and again, congratulations. Do any of the other board members have anything to say to these students? I I think it's a good reflection also on the community and the parents uh the family uh along with the staff as well that help the students achieve their
goals that they've that they've gotten this far. So, it'll be exciting to echo Jamie's comment as to how far everyone makes it and all the future success. Awesome. Thanks again, [Applause] All right. Well, that was It's hard to
follow, right? We should have them stay the whole meeting and end on that because that's so exciting. But I don't think that's quite fair to them too in their busy schedules. All right, we're going to move on to item number seven on our agenda, collaborative connections. And I'm going to pass it on over to
Superintendent Eric Olsen to talk about the acceptance of gifts. All right. Thank you, Chair Steven. Um for tonight, we have uh one donation. Um and this donation is from a longtime family in the district. um her name was uh Janice
Hansen and just uh loved what the school district um did for her family over the years. Um she recently passed and when she did she in her obituary she asked that um any donation uh be made uh to students in need at the Monosel um high
school. So we're very fortunate um for uh her commitment towards uh students. Um and she even got to say that in her obituary and um so $1,000 is going forward to uh Mono High School students in need um our magic closet. So huge
thank you to the Hansen family uh for recognizing that uh not every student has exactly what they need when they come to school. So we're very proud to partner with them. Therefore be resolved by Mount School Board number 82 to gratefully accept the following donations. The
Hansen family for $1,000 for the magic closet at the high school. Second. Moved by Jeff Hegley, seconded by Melissa Curtis. All those in favor, please say I. I. I. All oppose, please say no. Motion passes. 50. We are now on to our
student representatives report. So, help me welcome up Cohen Schilling again, Alawishas Thompson, and Willis Charmer to the podium. All right, I'll go first. Um, I'll start it off. We have AP test coming up um for
juniors and seniors. Uh, today was the AP bio test. Thursday is the AP stats test. And then Monday we have calculus AB and calculus BC. And then next Tuesday, we also have uh physics two. Um
quick little uh sports recap here. Um baseball, I'm a member of the team. We are seven and two so far. Uh we have eight games in the next 11 days, I think my coach said. So we are entering the thick of our season here. Uh softball,
they have a game tonight in Sartell and track has a meet tomorrow in Brainer. Yeah. And then to add on to sports, boys and girls lacrosse um are doing great. Girls lacrosse has a game against Chicago Lakes tomorrow night home. So
that's very exciting. Um we also have tonight in the realm of the arts we have an orchestra concert which I'm actually going to be popping out to later. Um and then on the 19th we have a band concert which has always been incredible. So if you're free that night, I would
definitely suggest showing up to that. Um and then finally in regards to kind of graduation end of the year um we have a private group of students planning the back laurate service which is um a more faith focused graduation service. It's
completely studentled but um facilitated by admin in the high school and I'm a part of that and it's going amazing and we're all very excited um for that next step. So yeah. All right. And to add even more, next Monday is senior awards night which will
be taking place and um recipients of local scholarships will be awarded and following that we have senior sunset taking place May 22nd where seniors will gather and watch the sunset be very beautiful and graduation takes place
June 6th which we all cannot wait for but yeah not that we're eager to leave though but but yeah yeah we also to add Last week was um National Commitment Day, so we all got to wear our college stuff um and got to show off where we're going next
year. So, it was super exciting to see um all of our friends just dressed up and kind of be able to see a glimpse into their next steps. So, yeah. On Wisconsin. Oh, Thomas. Yes, you.
But that's all we have for you. Any questions? It is. No. No. Great job. And will you guys be coming to the la the next board meeting? This is the last one. This is the last. Well, we we
Okay. Yeah. We So we can recognize. Okay. Good. Okay. I think um on behalf of Mr. Cole and myself, one of the byproducts that doesn't get shown here is the opportunities that we get to meet with the different groups of kids. And this is just another we uh get to check
in with them. We get to have impromptu hallway meetings or office meetings that really just give us a opportunity to get to know these on a very different level and to see who they were last year as juniors and become and um just the skills, the conversations, the the
things that they have brought to our building, what they bring to you, but also how they just kind of take care of business within our building and the influence that they provide. So, it's a great opportunity for us just to know kids in another avenue and help them give some opportunities that they get to
kind of polish themselves as they go forward into whatever their high school steps and beyond look like. So, we're grateful. It's fun. It's enjoyable. Um, sometimes I'll be honest, it's last minute and it might be, you know, what 2:50 on Monday as we're getting into the board meeting because trying to nail
down three very busy seniors is tough. And so, um, on behalf of Mr. Cole and I, we're very appreciative. We're thankful. It's it's fun for us to see you kind of own your your space and and turn into the adults that we know would do amazing things for us. Another word to describe you, we're very proud of your
leadership. I don't know that you guys realize it, but every one of you, they have different circles and kids that they influence in a really big way. KT, I can think of about 15 guys that follow your lead. Will, you've been awesome with um student council, right? And just some you push in and you want to own
that. Owen Owen's presence around the high school is very it's just he's got a big presence and he's not loud but people watch him. Um and it's really fun to see the skills they've developed not only in here but just at school. So we're proud of you guys and
you're going to do great things even if you go to India. So great group of kids. Very proud of them. They're going to do good things. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. and we're excited to see you back so we can properly send you off in June then when you stop in.
Perfect. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Because you're going to Yes. That's all right. Agenda item eight, teaching and learning. We are going to bring Mr. Rob Daneker, director of human
resources, up to touch on administrative professionals day. All right. And we have a number of I'm sorry, Chair Steven, members of the board, Superintendent Olsson. We have a number of uh celebration days just to recognize. And so um I'm delighted to be
here to uh recognize our administrative assistants. The the uh administrative assistance day was April 23rd, 2025. And on that date, we uh proudly recognize and celebrate the outstanding contributions of our 16 administrative professionals districtwide. Um their
dedication, organization, and tireless support are the backbone of our daily operations from managing students, staff, and facilities scheduling uh schedules that is to ensuring smooth communication and operations. Their work often goes unseen, but is always deeply valued. um they bring excellence,
efficiency and positivity to everything we do and we are truly grateful. Um uh today uh which was April 23rd and every day we thank you for uh your professionalism, commitment and the vital role you play in our success. Happy administrative assistance day. You
make a lasting difference and we appreciate you. So thank you to our 16 administrative assistants very much. U again their contributions do not go unnoticed. Thank you. Now, Superintendent Eric Olsen will be talking on school principal day.
All right. Uh they're giving me the the fun eyes back there. So, uh tonight I'm honored to recognize the incredible principles of uh the Monosella School District. True leaders uh who anchor our buildings and district with unwavering commitment. Uh each day you pour your
energy and professional development that empowers staff while ensuring that every kid every day feels seen, supported, valued, and inspired. You are not just administrators, you are the heart of our buildings, your buildings leading your learning communities with grace and grit. And it's really a 365 day a year
job. Uh your leadership fuels the innovation behind um things like career pathways, explorations, uh STEM, and um all of the social emotional support that kids need to um have their needs met. It brings you bring to life our vision of a
learner um and one that equips students for success in an ever evolving and changing world. On behalf of District 882, we thank you for your steadfast, loyal, devoted leadership. You are shaping futures, one student, one staff,
uh one family, and one day at a time. Thank you very much for your service. Thank you. And now we'll go to director of business services Tina Burke Holder on school lunch hero day. All right. So May 2nd was school
lunch hero day and it proudly recognizes and celebrates the outstanding contributions to our school nutrition staff. They are our lunch heroes. Whether it's a busy morning making breakfast or a beefy nacho day or whatever the new favorite is. Mine was
beefy nachos. Um they are the heart of our food service program. showing up every day with energy and genuine care for our students. From preparing nutritious meals and meeting dietary needs to keeping kitchens running smoothly and making the lunch line a friendly place, their work supports not
just physical health, but also the emotional well-being of our students. They do more than just serve food. They serve kindness, smiles, and stability in every tray. their dedication especially in the face of supply and chain challenges or the involving meal
programs that we go through. It is truly inspiring. So thanks to our nutrition staff, our students are nourished, focused and ready to learn each and every day. So kitchen staff, nutrition service staff, thank you for being our everyday heroes for making such a meaningful impact on our school
community. Thank you. Now we'll go to director of teaching and learning, Miss Cindy Foching on teacher appreciation week. Thank you for having me. Uh this teacher pre appreciation week, we celebrate the
incredible dedication and unwavering commitment of all of our educators. So far this year, our teachers have invested over 6,000 hours in structured literacy training, ensuring every child has access to the highest quality
instruction devoted uh or excuse me, rooted in the science of reading. Teams of teachers have devoted more than 3,000 hours reviewing and refining language arts, math, social studies curriculum, and each teacher has contributed over
900 hours directly supporting student learning through daily instructional minutes. Across our six schools, our teachers have built strong, caring relationships with over 4,000 students, creating safe, nurturing environments
where learners feel seen, supported, and valued. Behind the scenes, many hours have been dedicated to thoughtful planning and preparation, driven by a deep commitment to meeting each students individual needs every day. In addition
to their work in the classroom, our educators devote countless hours outside of the school day, oftentimes away from their families, to coaching, advising clubs, leading student activities, or supporting our students from the stands.
These moments on the field, in the gym, on the stage, or during club meetings deepen the bonds between students and staff and create lasting positive impacts in our school c on our school's culture. Our teachers do more than just
teach. They inspire, they lead, and they uplift uplift our entire school community. Thank you for your passion for students and your powerful impact you make every day. Your value is truly priceless. Thank you, teachers.
Thank you, Cindy. And now, help me welcome up director of student services, Sarah Welk, talking about school nurse day. Good evening everyone. Um, in honor of National School Nurses Week, we'd like to recognize and give a heartfelt thank
you to our incredible school nurses and also our health aids for the vital role they play in supporting the health, safety, and well-being of our students and staff. Their dedication to providing care, managing health plans, responding
to emergencies, and promoting wellness throughout our schools do not go unnoticed. They are a cornerstone of our school community, and we deeply we are deeply grateful for your compassion, professionalism, and tireless commitment
every single day. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Now, we are moving on to the middle school ELA adoption presentation. Please help me to welcome to the poem director of teaching and learning Cindy Foching, district leadery lead Kristen
Hall, middle school principal Jeff Sherbet, and sixth grade ELA teacher Nathan Russell. Good evening and thank you. Um we're very excited tonight to share with you our recommendation for our 6 through8
language arts adoption. Um, before I turn it over to Nate here, I just wanted to share a few things. This process started in the fall of 2023. We had some different faces up here. We had Lindsey Rman who helped us kick off the process. Uh Joan Owen uh
was the department lead at that time and along with Cindy uh we began a process in the front office conference room taking a good hard look at what we need and some taking a good hard look at our data our strengths and our weaknesses and we came up with some real core
values that we circle back to from time to time. uh this fall uh Nate Russell stepped up and took the lead with that department. And when he took on that ownership, that's not an easy task. You've got some a very passionate group
of uh sixth, seventh, and eighth grade language arts teachers. Uh some of the best around and have they're passionate and uh they have a strong opinion about some of the hard work they've done and the data that they looked over. It involved pouring over a lot of data. It
involved taking a good hard look at what we're currently doing and what we need to do different. Nate led that that discussion this year and it involved tough questions and tough conversations. I'm very proud of the hard work that Nate did and I really sincerely
appreciate Kristen Hall stepping in who met with each grade level and helped answer some of the tough questions that were proposed throughout the year. Uh and of course Cindy, I appreciate your help throughout the year. She's got a number of different adoptions going on,
but this one was was uh one that involved several different u um pilots and a lot of hard work. Uh so I'll turn it over to Nate and he's uh going to share some of the details and the process what that looked like and then we'll be available for questions
thereafter. So Nate Russell, you can sit down. I think I'm good. If you called upon I'll call you. Um it's pleasure to be here tonight. I thought that was locked in. Um, nice to meet you, schoolbird. Um, and nice to
see some of you, former students and members of the district and members of the community. Pleasure to be here. This is my 20th year teaching and I've taught now both the high school and middle school level. And one of the perspectives that I feel comfortable speaking from is the idea of this curriculum being something that's going
to prepare students for high school and beyond. And that's essential and that's what we're about here at the middle school. Um, Gavin, if you want, we have a clicker. We have a clicker. Let's go. All right. So, a little bit about Common Lit in terms of its main overview. And
what is it? It's a program that says we're going to develop effective reading, writing, speaking, listening, and critical thinking skills. Right? And that's right. So much of what we want to be in education, promoting a learning environment centered on cooperation, peer interaction, and strong communication. and the piloting that
we've done. I I was really impressed with the amount of real interactions that it facilitated instead of just like quiet book work, right? And that we have to have uh we've been hearing a lot this year about you can't write about it, you can't analyze it if you can't talk about it. We have to be able to do that as an important part of our learning.
Authentic real world connections, supporting learners with diverse needs, and empowering us as teachers to concentrate on uh what's most important for us as teachers in the classroom because the common lit curriculum is really well laid out and it's really well designed that it frees us up to be
able to do some of those other soft skills in terms of working with students and in a classroom. Uh one of the quotes that has really grounded me as a as a teacher and as a parent is the idea that children grow into the intellectual life around them.
And uh that was a quote that came across in like teacher classes in college and it was one that like I made a note of and filed away and have never lost sight of. And I think common lit's going to be a program that can really help our students grow into a expanded thoughtful
intellectual life that surrounds them in the classroom. So what do students need to gain for 21st century skills that common lit might work towards the ability to fluently or fluidly transition between digital and print medium. So, a lot of the common lit curriculum is online and with our Chromebooks, that's a primary pathway to
it. And we in the classroom are are going to be very mindful of how can we help students balance that kind of code uh shifting and that transition between print and digital, which is seems like it's going to be a pretty essential skill moving forward. And to not only be able to do that kind of code switching
print and digital, but to do it with reading, writing, and speaking, right? And a balance of those as the primary ways of the language arts. And then how can we go beyond basic comprehension? How can we go beyond just general knowledge into analyzing it, being able
to apply it, being able to evaluate? And then to synthesize, we mean to create, right? To take something. How can I now create from there essential skills? Mr. Sherber mentioned some of the core beliefs that were initially established to ground the work moving
forward. And I won't get too caught up in the weeds um here, but this I hope gives a sense of just how purposeful and how intentional the group has been from the beginning in terms of its careful consideration of what's important for
establishing uh a really big decision. So a bit of the timeline and process, right? We're going back all the way even to October of 22. And one of the things that you see on here is the idea of creating those core ideas and starting to kind of really think about
the standards, the 2020 Minnesota ELA standards that were put in place and really thinking about what do those mean for us as a district, as a department, and how will we think about that? How will that impact our decision with curriculum?
So establishing those core beliefs, thinking about what's something that's comprehensive, reading, writing, speaking versus maybe something that's just more so literature-based was certainly a big picture question early on. And then there were kind of like five early programs amplify Hoden
Mifflin springboard reader reconsidered and study sync and those were examined by a you know core group of people who look through introductory materials to start to begin that decision. So, one of the programs that initially
stood out to the group was Amplify. And last spring, we did a Amplify pilot and very glad that we did because uh the program had a lot of things that sounded really cool in a sales pitch and they looked lots of cool shiny bells and whistles, but then when we got into the
nuts and bolts of using it for instruction, we found that we had some issues with it. And after that pilot concluded the department we came back and we had said we have concerns about this choice. Can we please have some
time to further explore other options? And I'm very thankful that we are granted that time and gave us a chance to think about what were the other options and is there a better fit. And so you can see all last 2024, last spring, January, February, March, and we
piloted all the way into May, we said we need to look at something else. We think that's something else that we narrowed in on was common lit. And the common lit program was something that we looked at here in throughout the summer and started in the fall. And we did our
first pilot of common lit in the fall. And we felt that it went pretty successfully. We then had yet again like just let's make sure we're going to double and triple check that we feel comfortable with it. We did a second unit and we piloted a little bit more to
kind of just get a sense of all right well that was one type of unit that we did. Let's do another unit and it covered different things. The second unit was more informational non-fiction. The first unit was more short stories fiction and it was a good chance then to get a sense of the breadth of the
program. And after that we decided we we feel good about common lit and what's going to offer us as a department as a school as a building and we made the recommendation as a department with administration that we wanted to adopt
it. So why did we adopt it? Well, over the course of this year and the course of a lot of meetings, excuse me, a lot of conversations, we talked about how with how well the curriculum is set up, the way that it allows us to do some of those other parts of teaching. So, the materials that we have available to us
are are helpful, they're malleable, they're well done. We thought there was a great emphasis on writing and we immediately saw a a jump in an improvement in expectations for writing and the writing output that students were doing. Writing is hard work and the
students really struggle with that. And for those of us who have ever sat in front of a computer and sat and thought what do I say and how would I say this and that writing can be really tough critical thinking. Um we think we're in a good place with that and that's going to raise the
bar. We think that students of all skills and abilities will find challenge in it. I am thinking back to a a meeting I had in fall conferences when we with parents and it was student led conference and I would describe the student as one of the the more intelligent one more gifted students in
in the class and she was talking about how this is kind of hard stuff and I'm finding some challenge in this and the dad was like I love it I see what she's doing I look over and I work through it with some of her and like this is great I'm loving this common lit and I thought
okay That's that's that's good feedback. So, we're always thinking about that differentiation and I think students of all skills and abilities are going to find not only challenge in it, but that we can also work with students too. That's not just
about okay, the high-end high-f flyers. It's going to be a good fit for all. Since students are connecting to the content, discussions are going well and we think that the readings are very high relevancy. Uh they're they're fairly modern. They're they're pretty
contemporary. There's a lot of identifying of text evidence and there's a lot of claim, evidence, reasoning. And we noticed very quickly how that was overlapping with science. Students were coming from science class and they're saying, "Mr. Russell, claim, evidence, reasoning, CER, we're talking about that in science, too. Is this the same kind
of paragraph we should write like what we're writing in science?" Yes, exactly. So, there's been some natural kind of organic overlap there within common lit. One of the things that the program offers is a a very kind of detailed skills assessment
series which is kind of like fastbridge um once upon a time that was like NWBA MCA style kinds of questions and prep. And so we think it's going to yield us a lot of data and a lot of data that we can look through in addition to the other sources that we have.
It's designed already ahead of time for some alignment with common core and state of Minnesota standards and we are well in the process of thinking about how that aligns and making sure that all of that is being covered. And then there's quick and immediate feedback for many tasks and assignments with the
digital nature of a lot of the assignments that's there. Um, I wouldn't I didn't want to put this on the Y selected slide, but something else I thought was kind of interesting. When the students came back, sorry, not when they came back, when we were preparing for the MCA, we did like a little MCA sampler and it was like
approved from the state like here, you can use this batch of questions and the students were like, "This looks and sounds a lot like common lit, Mr. Russell." Yep, it does. I don't think it's necessarily intended or that it's geared directly for teaching to the test, but if the students are recognizing that, observing that
themselves, I'll take it. Uh, within the units, there are thematic units that are focused on short stories and fiction and focusing on different topics of adolescence. And these are all vertically aligned, six, seven, and eight. We really liked the
vision that all of the units had a clear sense of here's a thematic unit in sixth grade and then in seventh grade and eighth grade that are going to complement one another. Each year has a focused novel unit. I mentioned that there's a huge emphasis on writing in common lit and that's going to really I
think um change how some of the things are done in English classes at the middle school. So the research writing and argumentative writing units are a are a big part of the curriculum. In sixth grade, one of the the units that we piloted was called the recipe for success. And we read a bunch of
differentformational non-fiction articles. And within that, students were to be doing some note-taking. And they it was really interesting to see how much that asked of them, like here's a graphical organizer, right? And we're going to be building and ad adding to it, and we're going to be doing some
note-taking and building those research skills. And over the course of those readings, then they had to be on the lookout for what are ingredients for success. Here's an article about Sydney Crosby. Here's an article about a bunch of other like famous successful people.
Some of them musicians, some of them athletes, some of them people from history. And what was something that they did that seemed important to you? And so we saw a lot about effective practice, hard work, developing resilience, having a growth mindset. Their task was to take those notes and
to create a presentation. I pulled two presentations um and just kind of quickly pull the slides over so you can give a sense of what their end product looked like. One of the things that stood out to me from my high school perspective was I could see the way that this was scaffolding things towards that idea of like five paragraph essay
writing. The idea of that outlining of here's what our introduction should look like. It should have our thesis. It should have a preview of main points. What are our main points? Main point one, topic sentence, supporting details. Topic sentence two, supporting details, a conclusion where we're going to have a
parting thought and review our main points. I could see those seeds being planted in this sixth grade assignment. So, this person's goal was to continue getting all A's until the end of the school year. And they were going to accomplish this by being positive, putting in effort, and being committed.
They had three main points. They had to then say, "Here's my idea. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to be positive." And here's a sentence from one of the articles that we read and using evidence and I'm starting to show those research skills. I'm going to put in good effort.
And in this article that we read, here's my evidence for for effort. So claim, evidence, reasoning. They presented their claim. Here's their evidence. And then in their presentation, they said their reasoning. And so again, we see here was
my commitment, here's my claim, here's my evidence. So then we had a conclusion. They weren't all academic. I put one here that was they had the opportunity to talk about not just academics as their goal, but it could be anything that they felt was a meaningful goal for them. Uh this person's goal was about
shooting mid-range shots, right, as a basketball player. And so a very specific plan that they had and I see that and I see a preview of main points is where my thoughts as a former high school speech teacher comes into play. And they had their claim and then they
had their evidence, right? And to me, I thought it was a really good outcome that showed synthesis, right? not just comprehension and knowledge and I can answer these questions but I can apply I
and I can create out of what we've read and what we've learned. Right? So I kind of I thought it was fun to see some of the the sixth grade work here regarding ed reports. Ed report scores green meets expectations. Uh a
common lit scores green meets expectations in all major categories. Uh we we did have kind of one thing that we looked at and we talked about as a team that there was a little bit of concern from ed reports as a feedback about variety of types of writing. A lot of the writing was expository uh writing to
make a point like literary analysis kind of writing and we are already looking at all right how can we look at writing to persuade to inform and to entertain right not just to inform common lit is cost-effective you
know this was not a huge point of emphasis in driving the selection process I never had or heard people talking about dollars and cents and we have to mine that like obviously That's a realistic concern, but it was not a driving concern. I never felt like it was skewing our selection process. Uh,
common lit is cost effective. So, I think that's another great benefit of it. And there's some numbers to compare there at what the amplify number was at that we piloted compared to what the common lit number is at we've piloted.
And I think the common lit material is stronger and better than what amplifies was. So in summary, multiple programs were examined like the bill to say we did our due diligence. Careful piloting of leading candidates occurred. More due diligence and we are excited to adopt
the common lit curriculum. I looked at our our district plan and our district roadmap for kind of parting thoughts and for kind of last two cents that I'd want to say. I think that this will help us in middle school English continuously improve as teachers. I think it's going to help our
students grow as critical thinkers, effective communicators, resilient learners, and as persons of integrity questions. That was a fantastic presentation. Thank you. And I guess the part that I really like is that you
started with one curriculum. you started because it it looked shiny, bright, and amazing, right? And then you found out it didn't actually do what you were looking for and so you went back to the the table. I mean, I love the fact that you're saving the district money, too,
with that, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day, are we giving our students what they need in order to be successful? And what I like is that there's actual proven success already that you've shown and uh gives me confidence in what way to move forward.
So you and I'd like to add um my background educational f focus both at the bachelor's and the master's level was in reading and literacy and I recognize a lot of of what you've uh found in this program and it's very very in-depth. I was really impressed with
how in-depth it was. But that also gets to the fact that we're going to have to give a great big thank you to all of the teachers that uh buy into this program and learn how to apply it and administer it. That's going to be a huge work for them. But it is recognized that that that they're
Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. It looks good. Um so the current like in the past the middle school had their novels that they read and so those will be done and then common lit suggests novels that they will read. Right now, the way that we are looking at kind of
sequencing, curriculum mapping, scope and sequence, each year has like a one focused longer text. And we're hoping to have enough time still within the year to have one more unit that we feel strongly about personally outside of common lit that would probably be book
based, literature circles, things like that. So, um, I'm passionate about having books in hands of kids and that is was certainly a concern of ours as a department and it's a value that is important to us that we're going to still work to have. And you would still
have control to vet through the books to make sure they're appropriate and wouldn't cause any parent issues on the readings and all that. Okay. All right. Yeah. No, I think it's good that you did an evaluation, looked at more than one. And then to Jaime's point, also
recognizing that there's some issues, pull back, look at another one, and if it's better, if it's going to help teach help the students in the long run, um it's it's positive reflection to see you digging into that. So, I want to commend you and everyone else that worked on it as well to to look at
it. You no shortage of hard work. So, thank you again for your time and your commitment that you put in um to doing this, bettering our district and uh educating our students. So, we know it takes a lot of work. Like Mary was saying, even the adoption of it, there's
work to be had by every teacher that's going to be teaching it, not to mention the work you put into on that task force to pick it. So, yep. We got a good plan for what that work is going to look like next year. We know what's still ahead of us. Yep. All right. Any other
questions? All right. Thank you. Thanks. [Applause] All right. Well, I have a little exciting announcement here. Let's do that last. We'll do it last. Okay. Good. Just kidding. We'll hold you in
suspense. You get to wait just a little bit longer. All right. Now, we will move on to item number nine, a safe and healthy culture. Please help me welcome up to the podium director of building and grounds Terry Woodworth, Tom Pollock,
Gary Reveneg, and Greg Hulker to talk about the buildings and grounds presentation. All right. Well, thank you for having us here tonight. Um, last year, Mr. Olsen started scheduling some meetings with staff from the Monosel School District
and from the city of Monaceel. It was eye opening for us as the school staff to hear things that were happening around the city. Um, last year it was just kind of them updating us on what was going on and us sharing uh what was happening in the school district to
basically get us on the same page. And then this year um we started doing some planning together where we could use some of the same equipment, share things together to help the city of Monaceel and the school district. So I'm going to turn it over to Terry who put together a quick uh PowerPoint.
Thank you everyone. Let's see if I hit the buttons right here now. [Music] Okay. Um, just a quick introduction. As you know, it takes a lot of resources to keep our buildings and grounds um, looking good and staying up and running,
right? And occasionally we need a little help and that's kind of where Gary comes in and the city comes in and and again, we have a couple people that have uh, been willing to help us out at numerous occasions with everything whenever we ask. So, and again, we're going to, like Gary
said, um, a lot of this, uh, content wraps around that committee meeting, that buildings and grounds committee meeting that we had. Um, and one of the things I noticed at the last one was, um, spent about $12,000 last year on um, athletic field maintenance. Um, and that
took up, you know, 20% of our overall budget. So that was a huge cost and a huge kind of like oh my gosh, you know, like need to take a look at this a little bit better. Um, so some of the maintenance that was done again, they're going to airate that sandfield. That's
that track where that track is, that sandfield right around there. Um, they're going to supply and uh supply some athletic seed seed mix and then they're going to slit seed that. Um and then they would supply and apply two
applications of fertilizer. That was to the football field, that was to the baseball field, soccer, and the stadium areas. And then again, the next application would have been four applications to that sandbased field. That takes a lot of maintenance to keep that field up and running. It's sand.
So, anything you put on top of it, it's just going to drain through. So, you got to you got to stay up on top. You got to stay on top of that, right? And that's where that moisture manager uh comes into play, too. Um well, Greg Hulker, we brought him on board in the fall last year and he's,
you know, he's kind of a expert in this area. So, um it was a family business. Um Spring Green Lawn Care, of course, that's where he came from. So, again, I asked him, I said, "Hey, take a look at this. Does this seem right? Do we have other options we can do? Um you know,
maybe some other fertilizers that are a little more cost effective." So, he kind of ran the numbers and he's like, "Hey, I can do this for $2,000 for the material. Now, we don't have a piece of equipment, and that doesn't take into consideration my time, but for $2,000, you know, here here's what it's going to
take to do everything that that local vendor did. So, that's 12 acres of of land." Um, so then as as we're sitting around in this committee meeting kind of discussing all this and the cost savings of keeping this inhouse, you know, we
were kind of going back and forth and kind of getting some ideas and how we could kind of purchase something. Greg and I had kind of identified something that we thought would be uh beneficial to the district. Um, and Gary, you know, kind of just stepped up and said, "Hey, you know, I can help kind of purchase this piece of equipment for you. If you
guys can save money, it'll help, you know, save your guys's grounds budget money. It'll help his budget, too, because now I don't have to go to him and ask, "Hey, you can you help kind of pay for some of this stuff." So, um, so then again, after that, we, you know,
kind of had a plan and we purchased this Toro stand-on 60gallon spray master. So, there's a picture of it. So, Terry, yeah, I just want to add, so Greg Hoker is our new grounds uh director. So, he took over um in
November, and Greg comes with all kinds of experience. We're very fortunate to have him. Uh Terry mentioned last year we spent $12,000 on fertilizer, airating our fields, just trying to maintain them, and we hired an outside company to do that. Uh when Greg was hired, he
asked um what our vision was as a school district and how he could help. And it's very important for us to have safe playing surfaces. And uh we we want to be proud of the grounds that we have when we're hosting sporting events and FIAD and everything else that taking
place on school grounds. And Greg had said with his background, if we could get the fertilizer, uh he would be able to put it down on our fields. that is his background. So, he's certified. So, by him um coming on board, it's going to
save us quite a bit of money just this first year and every year. Um but he needed the right equipment and that's where I came in and I I can't always help but when I can through some fundraisers with the golf tournament and concessions and different things that we
have, I was able to help purchase this um spreader that will save our district money not just one year, but every year. and um it's going to benefit the whole school district spraying for dandelions, everything. So, he's certified to put the fertilizer down, spray the fields,
and it's just going to benefit the school district. So, Greg has been a great addition. And then when we were in the meeting with the city, um the city talked about, well, uh if you need to use an airator, you could use ours. So, we've got one that we have that we'll
drop off for Greg to use. Uh just a connection again that Greg has growing up in Monaceel with the city of Monaceel and them knowing his background, they're more than willing to come over and drop off some equipment for him to use to help save our school district money. So,
it started out last year just meeting and and going over, you know, uh what's happening in the city, what's happening in the school district, and now we're trying to partner on some things to save both of us money. So this spring, Gary actually sent a little flyer and said, "Hey, there's
some field turf maintenance training going on. You know, let's send our guys." I'm like, "Yeah, I advocated for that." And and again, Greg went to that and found a piece of equipment that would help help maintain that. I know we have a sweeper right now, but it's it's the original one. It's kind of old and
cumbersome and needing to be repaired frequently. So, um, yeah, they, uh, they saw this one there and and again, it, um, Gary stepped up to the plate and was able to kind of purchase that for us. I have a little video here. I
If it going to work, well, that's not the video. Skip that part. All right. Yeah, we got on. All right, I'm just going to add all right the turf field twice a year we have maintenance that's we're required to do
that by our insurance company to make sure everything is safe and we want to do that so our field lasts. We just uh are completing our eighth year with our turf uh turf field and twice a year I have a company come out and professionally maintain it. They'll add
some um sand, rubber if needed. They check, they smooth everything out, they pick up the field. So we have that contract with them, but that field is used a ton with soccer, lacrosse, football, community events, FIAD. Uh so
when Greg went um a couple weeks ago to the seminar, they said we needed a sweeper to help keep the field clean that was just demonstrated there. So um I am uh purchasing that for uh Greg and the grounds crew so that we can maintain um our turf and keep it looking nice so
when we have events we can be proud at Monaceel High School. So yeah, like Gary said at that same building and grounds committee meeting, um you know, Tom was sitting right next to uh Gary and without, you know, hesitation, he just, you know, he's like, "Hey, you guys need some help. You
can borrow anything at any time. You know, just reach out." So he offered up that core air raator. Um he's also offered up, you know, they have a lot of 4000 series ground masters. you probably see them kind of tooling around the city
uh during the spring and summer, but he even said, you know, if if your guys' machine goes down and you need to to borrow something a day or two, I mean, you know, he's willing to to let us borrow that equipment. So, um you know, Greg went to the shop. He invited him
out, take a look at all the equipment that they have, and yeah, they've got some stuff that we could use occasionally. So, um that was nice to hear that. I don't know, Eric, you were like, you know, your face at that meeting. You were super excited and and
uh you know, um just glad that we're able to kind of connect there and and uh get the city to help us out when we need it. Um and then last week too, I mean, I called Tom. We had um a flag pole issue here at the middle school and uh we
couldn't get it down. It was stuck F at the top. So again, I called Tom. Hey, you got a bucket truck? the next day he sent his crew out and they helped kind of fix that for us. So, um, you know, that's, you know, again, in short, in
the short time I've been here, you know, Gary has always been willing to help out and come up with cool ideas. And again, Tom, um, I just met him, you know, last year coming on board, but again, they just they're always stepping up whenever we need to. And, you know, can't say,
uh, thank you enough to all those guys. So, yeah. I just think it's important, you know, um collaborative connections is one of our strategic priorities and and the more we can do that for cost-saving measures, efficiencies and effectiveness, uh that has to be
continued to be explored so that we can um you know put money back always as a focus area into the classroom. That's always the goal. So that's why we go deeper in some of these areas uh um in order to um bring it back into other areas. So thanks for exploring those
guys. appreciate it. Yeah, I would any questions I was gonna Oh, no. I was just going to commend the the comments. Uh, so I'm on that committee as well, working with you guys and the team and and I will say Tom is uh very passionate in any way he can to help the school
district, all the resources he has. Um, it's it's a great partnership with him working between us and the city. So, it should be a a great endeavor into the future as well as more equipment is used, purchased by them that we can utilize on there as well. And then all
the items that Gary purchased, they're part of his regular allocated budget anyways that's in there. So, it's it's already planned for. So, just wanted to add that. I just want to say thank you. Thank you for thinking outside the box, being
creative, and um keeping our our property, our area, our facilities looking top-notch because it is a thing that's prideful for our community. So, and it's used a lot. All right. Thank you. Thanks.
All right. Now, on to the exciting addition. and we get to hop back to some awesome high school student recognition. So, I'm going to be bringing back up to the podium our high school principles, Lorie Hansen and Matt Cowwell. Thank you. Yes, we don't want to miss
this. And we have four more students we want to recognize. And I want to make sure everyone knows they are not late. They did receive a letter that said the board meeting started at 6:00. Um, and that is the the time previously, but we that was our fault actually early. Yes. Yes. So, we appreci I mean it's
important families come. We really appreciate you guys making the time to come here and do this. So, we have one more junior honor guard. So, Calvin, if you come up here, please. This is Kelvin Chang. He's a junior. He's got a 4.0. He is not shying away from tough classes and he is one of
those students that we would ask again to be at graduation with us along with along with a number of other juniors who um so far have that 4.0. So, congratulations. We're proud of you and we need you at graduation. We'll make sure you know the right time.
We get a picture. Y congratulations. [Applause] Then additionally, we have three students who are going into the military. So, if I could have Sadi, Elijah, and Gage come on up here,
please. We'll have each of them kind of describe what they think they know, what what they want to do, and what branch they're going into. I was pleasantly surprised actually a little bit impressed by um some they've some of them gotten started already. They they've enlisted uh before now. It's not
just waiting till after they graduate in the summer. So, if you could just tell us a little branch, what you're thinking about going into and what you've maybe um started with so far. We'll start with Elijah. Hi, I'm Elijah. Uh I enlisted about a year ago in uh February. So,
I've been almost a year. I'm a 91 Bravo wheel mechanic. I already did basic training in Missouri last summer and then this summer I'm going to AIT for my job wheel mechanic and I'll be there until like November.
Oh, army. I'm Satie and I enlisted into the National Guard Army about a year ago in April. I'm a 92 golf, which is a culinary specialist. Um, I'm heading off
to basic training in August and AIT. So, I'll be back sometime in December and then when I get back, I'll start looking for colleges. Where is Where are you going for? Oh, I'll be in Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic and I'll be in Fort Greg
Adams, Virginia for AIT. [Applause] My name is Gage Lawrence. I enlisted February last year, Army National Guard. My MLS is 12 November. Go to basic June 17th of this summer, right after
graduation. I plan to keep going with that the rest of my life. Where? Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Look at the picture. Thank you. It means a lot to us. And I would just want to say thank
you for signing up to serve our country. It is an honor to serve our country. I also serve for 13 and a half years. I've been to all of those bases. Um so if you ever want to want to talk, I we can chat about the service. Um, but thank you. I
appreciate it. And thank you for protecting our country. All right. I gota clap on that. [Applause] And you know what? I I'm not going to have you don't have to stay for the rest
of the board meeting if you don't want to. Other people were here too and were recognized. So you can you absolutely are invited to stay if you would like to. If not, you're more than welcome to go ahead and um resume your evening. So, it's completely up to you guys. But
we're going to say that was a great choice. All right. Now, we'll move back to safe and healthy culture and invite up director of business services Tina Burke Holder to go over the 2025 2026 prelim budget reports.
I'd probably want to leave too instead of listening to numbers, but that's okay. All right. So, tonight we have some of the budget presentation for you tonight. Uh it'll just be on on there. Oops.
It'll just be on some of our funds, not all of the funds. So, right now, we're in that budget development phase in our budget timeline. This is a list of all of our funds that we have budgets for. Uh, so our general fund, which also includes our special ed co-op fund, and our
capital outlay, which will have our insurance proceeds in there. OPED trust, food service, debt service, internal service, building construction, which is closed. We don't have that open right now. and our community service which also has the hockey closed to it when the state looks at our numbers. So, not
going over the general fund. I still need another month with that fund, but all the other funds are ready for your first look. So, we'll start with our uh special revenue funds which includes our food service fund, community service, and
hockey. With food service, we will we are planning on spending down our fund balance. There are a lot of unknowns in this fund. The federal reimbursement rates are always announced during the summer months, so we never know what they'll be. So, we're
anticipating a 3 to 4% increase on reimbursement rates. That's typically what the increase has been over the years. For breakfast meals, we're projecting 185,000 and for lunch meals, 480,000. Another unknown is our labor
contract is unsettled going into next year. So using again budget estimates for that. So when we look at our revenues for the food service fund, the other category includes our alle cart sales, adult sales and
catering where the majority of the revenue comes from either the federal or state government on our breakfast and lunch sales in the food fund. And on the expense side, um about 43% is salary and benefits and food costs are
the other bulk of the expenditure budget. Again, we don't have a lot of trend data on our food costs. This is next year will be the second year of being under self ops. So hopefully once we have a couple years, we'll be able to analyze our food costs and look at trends a little more
closely. Any questions on food service? All right. Next, we have our community service fund. Uh overall, we're planning on increasing our fund balance uh just under a 100,000. This includes our
community ed programs, ECF, adult basic ed, and school readiness. On revenues, we will see some growth in some youth participation. that, you know, we're going to have our middle school activities transferred
over to uh the community service fund and be budget neutral. Um we also will see or projecting an increase in facility rentals and uh magic adventures or our child care program. On the expense side, um you
know, 78% is salary and benefit. So, a lot of uh labor is in this budget as well. Um cont some contracts are settled, some are not. So that is one of the unknowns going into this uh budget as well. Any questions on community service
fund? All right. Uh next is our hockey fund which again closes to the community service fund but we keep track of them separately. And this uh budget is plans to be budget neutral self- sustaining. We partner with the Monosell Youth Hockey Association with this fund. If
there's a surplus, we split the difference of that surplus, but if there's a deficit, the hockey association takes care of that. Uh so just projecting a little bit increase in ice time and some sales there. So overall, that's our revenue. And on the
expense, um just a little bit of salaries and benefits. We don't have many employees in this fund. A lot of this is our uh arena lease. And um we did have some repairs last this year and I think a little bit next year projected
um we had a cooling tower that's being replaced this year and then we'll also have some roof replacement next year. And just while um that slide is very comfortable for the board and this is a board meeting. They're used to um seeing
things about the hockey. if you're a um somebody from the public coming in for a new meeting. Uh mo a lot of school boards wouldn't have the hockey fund. Um but we do because back in 2005 um a a partnership was formed before Tina's time before my time uh before the
board any board member here's time um was formed with the hockey association to um provide some um land and some and area and they built the arena um in a collaborative with the city with the uh school district and with um the youth
hockey association just it just does when you see hockey up there and then I see new people. It's just like it is kind of weird. We don't do that for every sport. It's a new It's uh very much unique to um us. Yep. And the Youth Hockey Association actually owns it and
the owner transfership doesn't happen until I think 2032 somewhere in there. Yeah, approximately. Yep. Um and then we have our remaining funds. Um, so with our debt service fund, we'll start there. It is our
mortgage account where a lot of it's just property tax money coming in and our bond payments going out. So just adding to that fund balance a little bit. Uh, generally we have to levy 105% of our bond payments to account for if there's any delinquents. But if we do
get the, you know, the property tax money coming in every year, the state looks at our fund balance and if it's too high, they reduce the next year's levy by whatever we're over. So if we're collecting money um as we're supposed to, that gets adjusted back down. So
money coming in again, property tax revenue with a little bit of offset with state aid. and expense. In the expense side, it is just principal and interest payments with a little bit on fees. Any questions on debt service? Our internal service fund is
where we record our self-insured dental program. So, this fund gets monitored by our insurance committee. We're projecting flat enrollment in our dental program. Uh but a 4% increase on our claims. So overall, just a little dip in
our fund balance next year, uh just under 7,000. So on the revenue side, it's that dental premiums coming in, whether it's the school district contributing or the employees contributing, a little bit of interest money. And on the expenses out, it's
claims paid to the companies as well as our administrative fee. Any questions on in internal service? I just had a question on a number. noticed in the internal service expenditures for the general
administration fees underneath the dental insurance claim payments uh they've gone up about 30% in the past three years but I think it's just tied to the number of claims is it is it as a claim happens the administrative fee is tied linearly to that the admin fees are
tied per employee per month okay so if our enrollment is increasing and we have seen some increases in our dental program that fee will increase as well. All right. Last but not least, our OpEd trust fund holds our revocable trust with our
retiree obligations. And for accounting purposes, we have to recognize all of the retirey obligations in this fund. But we only use this fund to um account for retirey obligations that do not have
the sunset clause in it. Um if they do, we can have that on our property tax levy. Um but with our latest actuarial study that is still yet to be completed, we can look at on an ongoing basis where
does it make sense um uh to have to use this trust or to not use this trust because if in the end we do have eventually all of our contracts that has that sunset language, we can only use this money for retirey obligations. we can't use it for
anything else. So, how can we make offset the levy to have smooth increases or decreases and at the same time utilize our trust for what was it what it was intended for if that makes sense. So coming in again, it's just
recognizing those obligations whether it's from a partial payment from the employee, retired employee or the district with a little bit of interest revenue and then uh the retirey insurance obligations going out. And in here we predicted the 13% increase on
our health insurance premium and what we know as retirees today. There might be one or two people that might retire after the year is over once this budget is settled, but for now it is based on what we know. So, all of these are just for
review tonight and we have um the budget pages when I complete the budget book uh with everything in there for your review and then I'll come back in June for the general fund and it can be approved either at the first June meeting or the second June meeting. But for now, it's
just review and to digest little chunks of budget. Any other questions? I said that the budget is always interesting. There's a lot going on. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you for your hard work. Yeah.
And like many people don't know, we're audited down to the penny yearly. So there's no misappropriation of funds or bad management. We were watched heavily. So, thank you. You're
welcome. All right. Now, moving on to like to invite up to the podium director of human services Rob Daner to go over first reading of policies. Right. Chair Seven, members of the board, Superintendent Olsen. Um, so we have uh several policies to go
through this evening. I think Gavin, are you going to get a list up there for us? Oh, that's the current version. We don't have them listed out. Okay. Um, that's okay. What I think we should do is, um, just because they're not listed, um, uh, we have somebody that's
absent today. Um, and so what I think we can do is go through them and then we can still put them on first read, but um, at the next one, but they'll have already been gone through. Okay. Right. Um, thank you for the heads up, Gavin. Um, all right. So, starting
with uh and just prefacing before we start policies, every meeting we generally try to reflect on the work that the policy committee does. Uh, policy committee is um um is uh comprised of chair seen uh
member Rut and also member Barthol. um myself, Superintendent Olsen, uh Director Foching, and then from time to time uh friends and guests join us for uh a a verbose, uh conversation regarding policies. And so, uh we learn
something new every time. So, uh but in general, we do take a lot of time to go through these and make sure we're getting it right. And um and so I everybody I speaking for the committee, everybody feels pretty strongly about the work we do. Uh the first policy for this evening is policy 515 uh protection and privacy of
people records. Uh this is a policy that uh the board uh recently reviewed. Um however we uh are entering a partnership with a vendor for a new platform for um for school notifications
and the vendor uh reached out to us and shared that um they recommended that we adopt uh some amended language to this policy regarding um uh how data is used. And so there's um uh in article 7,
there's a new addition uh that's being proposed as this first read tonight that says the school district shall not share parent phone mobile number information with third parties affiliates for marketing promotional purposes. And of course, we would never do that. However, this platform allows um stakeholders to
choose to opt in what's called originator opt-in uh for text messaging, data, and consent. And so, um, it's just trying to be transparent and trying to recognize the the duties, obligations, laws that, uh, bind both parties and make sure that we're, uh, again being
transparent with our constituents. Any questions on 515? Okay, moving forward to 603, curriculum development. Um, and so this one is, um, I might be out of order here actually, but we don't have a list in
front of us. So, who's going to know, right? Um, so let's go in numerical order. So, 603, uh, curriculum development. Uh, the, um, this is coming to us from our, uh, review cycle for policies. And, uh, in this one, we were just updating some
of the legal references because some of the names of various statutes changed. Uh, most notably, uh, world's best workforce is a thing of the past and has been replaced by comprehensive achievement and, uh, civic readiness, for instance.
Any questions on 603 at all? Okay, moving on. 604 uh again brought to us through our um review cycle. This is instructional curriculum. Um changes uh proposed herein. Um the
state eliminated the civics requirement for graduation. So that's been eliminated from this policy. Uh there was a mistaken reference to charter schools when this is a school district policy. and then um an amendment uh regarding some legal references and also a reference to on track for graduation
as a requirement. Any questions on 604? Okay. Uh next up is 608 instructional services special education. Uh the purpose of this policy is to set forth the position of the school board on the need to provide special education services to some students in the school district. Um
there is an entirely new uh article added to this uh policy uh and the article is titled child birth, excuse me, children birth through age six experiencing developmental delays. And so this is um due to change in state
statute that was adopted in 2024. And then there's also an additional section at the bottom of the uh policy regarding uh the school district may conduct an assessment for developmental adapted physical education otherwise known as DAPE outside of the regular IEP
process. So not having to run a full exhaustive IEP process in order to uh determine if a student qualifies for DAPE. Any questions on 608? Okay. Uh next up is 618. Um and there was uh this was again brought to us through our review cycle work. Um and
also it's the product of some statutory changes. Um most notably there the definition section was uh quite extensively revised uh per the Minnesota Schoolboard Association. Um things like above grade level um you know below
grade level were um uh aged out and replaced by academic standard benchmark career college ready things like that. So really updating um the nomenclature uh for use in this policy 618 which is assessment of student achievement. Any questions on
618? All right. 619 uh staff development uh for standards. Um and there was again coming through us uh to us from our review work. Um and again this one uh just updating some legal references uh again because of um uh updated statute
names and again this one referring to comprehensive achievement civic readiness. Any questions on 619? Okay, moving on to 620 credit for learning. Uh this policy recognizes student achievement that occurs in post-secary enrollment option and other
advanced uh enrichment programs. Um in this one again uh from our uh review work but also change in in state statutes. Um and so the statute was um for postsecary
education notification to the school district. Um formerly there was one date that students had uh were required to provide the district with nota notification. Now there are two dates. Um so October 30th and May 30th are the designated notification dates. And then
uh also notification inversely uh coming from the post-secondary institution they are now required by law to inform school districts when students enrolled in PSO uh would drop a course. So this is credits for learning 620. Any questions on that
one? Okay. 621. This is a brand new policy um and brought to us by the work of the legislature in 2023 and 2024 regarding the read act. Um and essentially what this policy is um proposed to do is simply to embed um
redact uh what the readact is and also the process for uh or the responsibilities I should say of the district to provide um redact uh guidance instruction um to our uh certified education staff that are applicable to under the the statute. Um
and so this is 621 literacy and the read act. Any questions on this one? Okay. And then finally, uh the last one for review this evening is uh for first read that is I should say policy 624 online
instruction. Uh the policy committee had a little fun with this one because the last time that the policy committee um actually made any change changes to this one was in 2015. And as you can imagine, there's been quite a few changes made to online instruction in the intervening 10 years. Um and so the purpose of this
policy is to recognize and govern online instruction options of students enrolled in the school district for purposes of compulsory attendance and address enrollment of students with online instruction site uh supplemental or full-time online learning. Any questions on 624? Okay. So those are our policies for
first read this evening. Uh chair seen no action necessary. Thank you. All right. And that brings us into adjourning our regular meeting of Monosella School Board. We'll be Did you have an announcement?
Nope. I already did. Thank you though. It was the the other students that came in for recognition. The exciting part that I was talking about. Um, all right. So, we're adjourning now at 6:33 p.m. Our next school board meeting
will be on Monday, May 19th at 6:00 p.m. And we will be following this with a work session. So, we'll take a 5m minute break and then meet back. Thank you for coming.